Influence of Entrepreneurial Behaviour on Perceived Service Quality by Government Ministries in Kenya

Abstract

Entrepreneurial behaviour is the willingness to render a service to a Kenyan citizen in a pleasant, satisfying manner. It can also be complex as to involve disagreeing with an existing political regime and starting a new nation. In government ministries in Kenya, entrepreneurial behaviour can surface in the form of a government officer discharging their duties in a different and valuable way from the norm. It is against this background that this study sought to establish the influence of employees’ entrepreneurial behaviour on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The specific objectives were to analyze the influence of employee innovativeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya: examine the influence of employee pro-activeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya: evaluate the influence of employee risk-taking on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya and to assess the moderating influence of moderating factors on the relationship between entrepreneurial behaviour and perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. This study would help government ministries to identify elements within their work environment that could influence their entrepreneurial orientation and consequently, improve their service delivery to the public resulting to a more satisfied public. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. This being a census study; all the ministries were considered in the study and from all the ministries, all the four executive officers selected from every ministry to take part in the study as they are perceived to be knowledgeable on the issues under study and for which they are either responsible for their execution or they personally execute them. The respondents were selected purposively based on judgment by selecting only the 4 executive officers which yielded a response rate 100%.The questionnaire was pre-tested on pilot respondents who were not part of the study respondents but who were knowledgeable in the study aspects in order to ensure their validity and relevance. 10 officers were selected for 10 ministries and used for pilot study analysis. The researcher interviewed executive officers (administration) to further investigate their responses. Interview questions were used to gather data on work culture, nature of work, employee innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking and on perceived service quality. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to establish how entrepreneurial behaviour influenced perceived service quality. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure the reliability of the scale, which was used to assess the interval consistency among the research instrument items. The regression results showed that employee innovativeness had significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The regression results also showed that employee risk-taking had significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. Work environment had statistically significant moderating influence on the relationship between entrepreneurial behaviour and perceived service quality in government ministries in Kenya. The study recommends that government ministries should encourage employee entrepreneurial behaviour as it was established to positively influence the public’s perception of services offered by government ministries. The study also recommended that the government should pay more attention to the work environment in government ministries as it was a key contributor to quality service delivery.